Only in Dreams is Life a Reality
by Niak
Summary: Chapter 7 is up, quite quickly for a change
1. This Love

Hey, just a quick note, this publishing basically means I have discontinued my last fic "A compromising situation" at least for the time being if not permanently. Sorry to any of my reviewers but I didn't think I had enough readers to continue the story. So I plan to just start this new one and see where this one takes me. This fic feels a lot easier to write so far so I hope that's a good sign for this story. So, all that's left is to sit back and enjoy this latest fic, "Only in Dreams is Life a Reality" "Quotes" 'Thoughts' [Location]  
  
Chapter One: This Love  
  
Keitaro Urashima, the luckiest man in the world. He has it all, a great job, good home, in college, and surrounded by beautiful women. What else in the world would there be for him to ask for. Well, there was one thing, the return of his love towards his supposed promise girl, Naru Narusegawa. Of course he, along with everyone else, assumed she loved him. In the end though, no one could actually prove it either way because Naru would accept her own feelings, whatever they were. Maybe she didn't love him though, and without that, what would he have. So, all Keitaro had was his hope that she loved him, and was just too nervous to tell anyone. Who knows though, so Keitaro just went through life day to day, hoping that each day would bring a new surprise to make his life worth living.  
  
This did not create a total happy situation for himself though, as the weeks dragged by with no response, his will began to fade. His hope was still there but was now stretched to the breaking point. This left Keitaro on his last limb, with only one source of possible salvation.  
  
[6 AM - On the Hinata-Sou's roof]  
  
'Well, another day, and it once again seems so routine. Naru still hasn't told me what she thinks of me, I've been waiting weeks for that now. Plus then the rest of the girls are being there normal, overly anarchistic selves.' To this Keitaro simply sighed as he watched Motoko going about her daily routine of a pre-breakfast training session. Right then and there a thought occurred to him. He ran off the roof, and ducked into the apartments. He rushed into his room and grabbed the wooden katana that Seta has given his when he got into Tokyo U. He then rushed downstairs and went outside and the calmly walked up the stairs towards the deck where Motoko was practicing. As he reached the top, Motoko stopped her sword dead in its tracks and snapped around to face Keitaro.  
  
"What do you want Urashima" was all she asked, and not in a very kind voice either. This caused Keitaro to take a step back, against his own will. After a second, Keitaro swallowed hard stepped back up onto deck.  
  
"I was wondering if you could possibly teach me a few things about sword techniques, maybe even spar a bit." Keitaro noticed Motoko's eye twitch at this remark.  
  
"What makes you think I'd ever teach you anything?" she remarked "my schools teachings are secret and only the bloodline may learn them."  
  
"I don't need to learn the techniques; I just want to be able to strengthen myself with my legged just healed."  
  
"Fine, I'll train you, if you can manage to beat me in a simple duel." Motoko was sure this would put Keitaro on edge, but to her surprise, he simply looked at her and then drew his wooden Katana.  
  
"Fine, if I must defeat you, don't expect me to pull any strikes." With that he stepped closer to Motoko so he had ample room behind him to maneuver. He then crouched and positioned his katana in an awkward reversed angle in his left hand, to Motoko it appeared he had no idea what he was doing.  
  
'If he expects to beat me with that pathetic stance, he doesn't deserve my time much less my superior skill beating the stuffing's out of him.' Motoko then raised her katana in the basic defensive position so she could quickly find a weakness in his first attack and finish this.  
  
After seeing this, Keitaro simply smiled as his feet propelled him towards Motoko, who was currently shocked at his speed. Then, in mid stride, he reversed sword hands from left to right so that the attack he launched was now a rapid backhand. Motoko saw it coming and quickly ducked under the strike and counterattacked, assuming that the strike had left him open for attack.  
  
To her surprise, Keitaro had managed to back hand spring duck under the blade. He then snapped his blade and knocked Motoko's blade away as he finished the maneuver. He then stood up and took a new position for attack, this time his sword was resting against his hip, ready for a quick defensive strike.  
  
After witnessing that last attack, saying Motoko was surprised is an understatement. Keitaro contained more skill then she could have imagined. This might just make her training a little more interesting.  
  
"Stop," she said as she lowered her sword and smiled.  
  
This surprised Keitaro as he took a step forward and continued to point his sword to Motoko.  
  
"Are you sure your done, I want to make sure you teach me if I can."  
  
"Yes I'm sure, now put your sword down and let's head into breakfast, I'll begin to teach you this evening when I get home from school." She said as she walked past him and down the stairs. Keitaro smiled then turned and followed suit. 'Well, at least something went right.'  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
Keitaro and Motoko entered the kitchen last and they sat down,  
both setting there katanas on the ground and looked around at the table.  
It seemed that Naru was absent from the table once again.  
  
'This is how it's been for the past 3 weeks; she's never here,  
always finding some reason to avoid me.' 'Maybe she really isn't sure  
whether she likes me or not.'  
  
Keitaro sat there thinking and ignoring his food as the others  
ate greedily. Shinobu noticed Keitaro not eating and thought about how he  
really has changed since he told Naru he loved her. His usual content  
nature was drawn out of him now. Shinobu sighed and thought about how  
much love can change people.  
  
At that point Motoko and Su had finished there breakfast and got  
up to leave for high school. Su bounded through the door while Motoko  
paused and looked at Keitaro.  
  
"See you after school Urashima," was all Motoko said as she  
turned rushed after Su. Keitaro simply smiled and looked back at the  
table, where only Shinobu remained. Kitsune had snuck out on them once  
again, mostly in an attempt to avoid work. This left Shinobu and himself  
to work on the dishes before Shinobu needed to take off for junior high.  
  
Keitaro grabbed three sets of dishes and took them into the  
kitchen where he began to clean them, humming a little tune to himself  
while doing so. A few seconds later Shinobu came through the door, also  
carrying dishes and began to work right next to him. As she was working,  
Keitaro thought he heard her say something.  
  
"I'm sorry, I missed what you said," said Keitaro as he stopped  
his work and turned towards her. She turned also and half blushed, half  
smiled at him in return.  
  
"I was just wondering about what your going to do now that your  
leg is healed Sempai," she asked with a hint of concern. That was also  
like Shinobu, always worried about everyone, so I decided to help her out  
as best I could by explaining my plans.  
  
"Well, actually, it's kind of pointless for me to go back to  
school this year so I might wait till next year instead," I explained.  
"So actually I may team up with Seta and go on some short digs in  
America, Europe and eastern Asia," I continued. "These short trips and  
research should be enough to make my time entertaining," I finished as I  
looked to her for approval.  
  
She smiled and concluded our little conversation with a simple  
"As long as you don't run away for a long time Sempai." She then finished  
her dishes and smiled once again as she left out the door to school.  
  
Keitaro sighed as he finished up his dishes and walked out into  
the living room, past an already drunk Kitsune, and out the front door to  
stand in front of the apartments.  
  
'I wonder what I should do; Seta told me I could go away with him  
at any time.' 'Well, I need to figure out if I should wait Naru's answer  
first.' 'Maybe I should do something to get it out of her.'  
  
While thinking about all of this he decided he should go visit  
Mitsumi on her day off of class. So he began down the stairs and just  
switched from the serious thoughts of life to a more calm idea about what  
to do for the day.  
  
While daydreaming, he didn't notice who was coming up the stairs. It was one Naru Narusegawa. She also happened to be thinking about something important to her, so they collided on the steps. Keitaro managed to recover his composer and catch Naru's hand before she also took a tumble down the stairs.  
  
After pulling Naru up she collapsed into his arms. After pulling herself to her feet she stood in front of Keitaro and then continued to get what needed to be said out into the open.  
  
"Keitaro, I know I've been avoiding you for the last few weeks, but now I finally need to tell you how I feel whether I want to or not." She swallowed and looked at the ground, "Keitaro, I can never possibly love you like you love me." "This is why you should move on and find someone else." With that she walked up the stairs past Keitaro and away from him.  
  
Keitaro's mind went into total shutdown at those words and he just stood there unsure of what to do. Then his instincts of depression and panic kicked in, and he ran for all his life. He had no idea where to go, but he knew he just needed to get away.  
  
End Chapter 1  
  
This is an update so just Read and Review I guess.  
  
Here's a shout out to Gotenks, Vash, Mantis, Knights, and RPGer for standing by my fic through chapter 5 where this update was inserted. 


	2. Black Heart

Wish I could have had more reviews but I still need to say thanks for all the reviews so far, I really appreciate all your support. As any of the authors reading this know, it's almost impossible to continue updating when you don't get reviews. Who wants to continue a piece of work no one supports. Now, after getting enough reviews, the story must go on.  
  
Thanks to the reviewers  
  
Vash: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you like that I made the first chapter more open ended.  
  
KnightsShadow: Glad you like it, sorry about the update time  
  
MantisMan: I hope you continue to follow this, I hope to make it a great fic  
  
Gunsniper: Glad for your review, and I hope to increase the update speed over the next few weeks.  
  
Vash: Thanks for the reviews, continue to read and review please.  
  
RPGer: Thanks for the support and glad your fic is picking up speed.  
  
Now onto the story:  
  
Chapter Two: Black Heart  
  
Naru continued to walk up the stairs as Keitaro rushed down the stairs, off to someplace. Not that it really mattered to her anymore. She had just destroyed everything between them, and they would never see each other the same way.  
  
She reached the top of the steps and stepped inside the dorm. She looked up and saw Shinobu standing inside the entryway.  
  
Shinobu gave Naru an inquisitive look, and asked "where did Keitaro go."  
  
Naru's head sank when she heard this and tears streamed down her face as she rushed pashed Shinobu and ran to her room. She threw open the door and jumped onto her futon and grabbed a hold of her Liddo-kun. She continued to lie there sobbing as Shinobu who was followed by Motoko and Su entered as well.  
  
Naru just looked up at them and quietly muttered "shouldn't you all be going after Keitaro?"  
  
The three girls just looked at each other and Su blatantly asked "why, where is Keitaro going?"  
  
Naru began to cry again, and Shinobu moved in to try and comfort her. Naru didn't take this well though and threw her back, making Shinobu fly into the table.  
  
"Why can't you just leave me alone," Naru shouted at the others. They all stopped dead at that. Naru rushed past them in there shocked state and ran down the hall and locked herself in the bathroom.  
  
After helping Shinobu up and checking her for injuries, all glad that she was ok; they needed to decide on a course of action with this latest news.  
  
Meanwhile..:  
  
Keitaro had ran down the steps and rushed through the streets of Hinata. As he continued running he felt the void growing in his heart. As he reached the end of the road he was on, he saw the train pulling in to Hinata station. He ran into the station, and hopped on the train.  
  
Keitaro sat on the train, letting the time flow past him, with his mind staying static, still on the stairway with Naru-san. After a few minutes the emotion finally overcomes him and he breaks into tears. After he finally regains his composer, he looks out to see the train stopping at the Tokyo U campus. So he hops off the train and runs toward the stairway of the main building. At the bottom step he falls to his knees and screams "Fuck you fate,"  
  
Keitaro begins to cry again, and between the sobs he mutters to himself "She *sniff* and I were destined *sniff* to be together, what the fuck happened." With that he cry's, harder then he had up to that point. He's starting to make a scene now, but fate decided to throw Keitaro another curve ball, being the bastard he is. Right then Seta walked up behind him.  
  
Seta, being the most socially incompetent person ever to walk this planet simply gazed down at the sobbing Keitaro. Seta reached into his lab coat, grabbed a cigarette and lit up there. After taking a deep puff he looked down on Keitaro and asked in a non-chalet tone "What's wrong Keitaro, your girlfriend dump you," he laughs after asking this.  
  
Keitaro has no idea how to respond to that, so he just looked at Seta with a dumb look that resembled your average high school stoner. After coming to his senses, Keitaro just sighed, stood up and brushed himself off. He looked up at Seta and asked "can we talk in your office?"  
  
Seta nodded to this and the two of them walked into the main building and up towards the archeology offices. After they reach inside they both sit down in the now familiar offices and more memories flood back to Keitaro. After calming himself mentally he looks to Seta and asks "Where is Sara now anyway?"  
  
"She's on a trip to Okinawa; she's living with that Mitsumi character you know." He laughs after saying this, grabs another cigarette to replace his last one, and tosses the old one in the trash. "Now you still haven't told me," he adds in a serious tone "What's got you down?"  
  
Keitaro replies in one word "Naru."  
  
Seta begins to chuckle at this and sighs as he mutters to himself. Keitaro looks at him in disbelief, why was he laughing.  
  
Seta beings to explain what he meant "you still need to learn a lot about life, your still young Keitaro." He chuckles once more and continues. "Your life is now free of this monkey that has been on your back since you first moved to Hinata."  
  
Keitaro continues his look of disbelief "you're saying it's a good thing she told me she doesn't love me."  
  
Seta chuckles some more and sighs, like a broken record of sorts. "No, it's not good that she said that, but at least now you know." "For the last 2 years you've been doing everything you can for this girl, now you know it was a waste of time but because of your devotion to not only her but to the other residents of Hinata." "Your time here has changed not only yours but everyone else's lives for the better."  
  
He smiles at Keitaro, who sighs at this. "Seta, what's the point, I lost the thing that I thought fate had granted me, what, 17 years ago now."  
  
Keitaro continues to stare at the ground as Seta looks at the back of his head. "Well Keitaro, if talking to you won't change your mind, would you prefer to go on a dig with me in Mongolia and try to figure things out?"  
  
To this Keitaro lifted his head and the first smile Seta had seen appeared on his face. "Now that's the Seta I remember, let's head out."  
  
Back at Hinata..:  
  
"What happened to Naru?" This was asked by an obviously worried Kitsune. While she was a normally foxy like character hence the name, she did care deeply for her friends.  
  
To this Shinobu simply responded "All I know is that she mentioned something about tracking down Sempai." Her head sunk at this realizing she couldn't be much help. Even if she was 16 now, she was still not as mature as the others were.  
  
Kitsune seemed to be thinking, and then she sighed and revealed her thoughts. "I think it's probably something to do with Naru not telling Keitaro her feelings, and that something has happened there."  
  
Motoko nodded when she heard this and muttered something about how that would make sense. Shinobu was still worried, "What are we to do if Sempai has run off on us again?"  
  
"Well," thought Kitsune, "you three could go after her and I could watch after Naru while you three are away."  
  
Su jumped at that thought and rushed off to her room, saying something about gadgets, which they knew was usually a bad sign. Shinobu sighed at went upstairs to pack as well. Motoko stayed and looked at Kitsune. "Kitsune, do you have any idea where we should start our search?"  
  
Kitsune shrugged and said "first I'd check to see if Seta is still around, then I'd head out to Okinawa and check on Mitsumi." "There the only leads we might have."  
  
Motoko nodded and looked up to see Shinobu and Su running down the stairs. Su was carrying a hi-tech looking miniature airplane. She ran outside with the others and set it on the ground and said "now this is my latest invention, a portable airplane."  
  
The others sweat dropped at this and Su laughed as the plane expanded to its normal size, which could easily carry 8 passengers with full luggage.  
  
Kitsune burst out with laughter, "you never cease to amaze me Su"  
  
Shinobu, Motoko and Su all jumped in and Su yelled "Onward to Tokyo U,"  
  
End Chapter 2  
  
IT IS DONE  
  
I'm so sorry for the late update, but I really wanted 5 reviews before I put more work into it, so when I got my 5th review I touched this story up and I give it to you now. I hope you enjoy it, I actually have a plan for this one so you won't have to worry about any writers block like my last fic.  
  
Now, I hope to update over Valentine's weekend so watch for it, and as always  
  
READ AND REVIEW!!!!  
  
Notice the extra size for eye catching goodiness. 


	3. Must Get Out

I'm back, and glad for the reviews. Got them rather quickly this time, took less then 7 hours after it appeared on the site for me to have 5, and got my 6th a few days later. So I thank you again.  
  
Right now I finally have the entire plot for this fic in my head, so I want to tell you some details. First this is the first of 3 blocks to the fic. This in essence is the first block which I am nicknaming Fate. The next two will be continuations of the story, which each take place to finish. The only reason I am splitting it into 3 sections is because there is a different feel to each section that you will notice when you read it all at once. As for updating, it will get worse before it gets better. Starting this next week I get to prepare for AP exams which are tests which I get college credit if I pass. Problem is they aren't easy, so I'll be studying for the next 2 months with most of my free time but I will try to update every week or two.  
  
Thanks to these reviewers:  
  
Vash: glad you like it and I hope that this next chapter meets your expectations. Plus, if you really want scenes between Kei/Mot, wait till I actually have them meet in the story again for a chance.  
  
Kei: Glad you have enjoyed it.  
  
Tambourine: I plan too.  
  
Gotenks: Don't worry about Naru, if you actually saw the entire series/read the entire manga, then you know/should know that she really is a very emotional girl on the inside.  
  
Knights: Now, you wouldn't want me to ruin the story this early by telling you that now would you.  
  
Hawker: Glad you like it so far and this chapter should end up being between 3 and 4 thousand words so that should be what you're looking for.  
  
Now, on to the fic.  
  
Chapter 3: Must Get Out  
  
Kitsune put her hand above her eyes as she watched the search team take off. Who knows where they'd go, but Kitsune knew they'd never stop till they drag Keitaro back. Whether he was in one piece or not was to be found out later.  
  
'I have work to do myself,' Kitsune thought as she turned back and walked into the Hinata-Sou. Once she took care of the problem with Naru, she knew she could have a little fun on her own. This got her chuckling a little bit, but as she passed the bathroom, she heard Naru sobbing inside of it.  
  
Kitsune put her hand up to the door and tapped on it lightly. She could hear Naru shifting around inside, but she didn't reply. So Kitsune decided to speak up, "Naru, when you feel like talking, come down, it'll only be me because the rest just went after Keitaro."  
  
She thought maybe she heard Naru cringe at that, so she guessed that maybe she was more then partially right in her guess. So she walked down the stairs and sat on the couch, flipped on the T.V. and thought to herself 'now its time for the waiting game.'  
  
At Tokyo Airport:  
  
A voice shot over the loud speakers, "Flight 227 to Mongolia with a lay over in Beijing has been delayed till 6 AM tomorrow because of severe winds in Mongolia." "Please return tomorrow when the conditions have improved."  
  
'God damn it all,' Keitaro thought to himself 'I had just wanted to get out of here, but luck is always against me.' He sighed and looked up to Seta, who was picking up his bags and turning to face him.  
  
"Well Keitaro, where are you going to stay tonight?"  
  
Keitaro's head sank and he thought over his options. 'I can't go home or else they guard me to make sure I don't take off, that leaves my only option as...' Seta, can I possibly stay at your place tonight.  
  
Seta smiled back, he was always smiling, "you're always welcome, here, let's get going now."  
  
The overly depressed Keitaro and the beaming Seta stepped out of the airport and stepped on too the train so they could reach Seta's house. All the while, Keitaro remained in his deep train of thought; nothing could stop the broken record of images in his head from stopping. The pictures of the last two years at the Hinata-Sou continued to flash before his eyes.  
  
The first memory was of course, his first meeting of Naru, when they both were in the hot springs without there glasses. That misunderstanding ended up being painful for him, and really set the tone for the rest of the relationship between Naru and Keitaro.  
  
Then there was the first time they studied together. There relationship began to build and Naru had taken it on her shoulders to see him into Tokyo U, while that goal succeeded, there relationship never became solid.  
  
Then there was the time when they both failed the exam, and took off on the trip, supposedly alone. It ended up with them meeting each other and unknowingly hanging out for 2 days. That in the end was the high point of there time together.  
  
Then the most solid memory of when Naru had told him she wished to go to Tokyo U with him. He had thought that was when they would finally be together, but once again, it was all futile.  
  
Then the last memory was of first him breaking his leg and in fear of losing Naru telling her that he loved her. 3 months following Keitaro's declaration of love to her, she responds by telling him she wasn't interested. That is where he was left now, in his own memories and dreams, where he only touched reality when Seta would drag him out of it.  
  
"Keitaro, were at my stop," Seta said through the dull fog of Keitaro's mind "We need to get off, come on." Seta pulled Keitaro off the train and they both walked down the street for a few blocks. After some time they finally reached a smaller house where Seta walked up and inserted his key.  
  
Seta just smiled back and opened the door. They both stepped inside and set there things down in the front hall. Seta walked into the kitchen area and put a kettle on for some tea. He turned around and gestured for Keitaro to sit down. As they seated themselves at the table, Seta gave Keitaro a very serious look.  
  
"Now, I want to know why you are running away before we go on this trip." "So tell me everything that has led up to this point."  
  
Keitaro wasn't surprised that Seta brought this issue up, but that didn't mean he was anymore prepared for it. Keitaro sighed and looked down at the table, plotting where to start his story.  
  
"Well, it begins about 16 or 17 years ago when I met this girl at the Hinata apartments." "She and I made a promise to go to Tokyo U together when we got older." His voice wavered off for a second, than he started to speak again. "For 15 years, I worked with the only goal of my life to get into Tokyo U and meet the girl of my dreams which fate would give me if I made it into Tokyo U, or so I assumed." "Then just 2 years ago I met Naru and the others when I came to the Hinata-Sou."  
  
Keitaro seemed weary of going on, but seemed to gain his resolve and started up his story once more. "After getting to know Naru I began to grow closer to her, and my prayers seemed to be answered when I saw a diary entry which said something about a promise 15 years before." "Of course I assumed it to be something that related to my promise and made of a fool of myself doing so." "After that though, we both failed our test for Tokyo U and we both left on vacations of our own."  
  
"At that point we both ran into each other but because of a little problem with our glasses, we didn't know it was the other person." "Then we met Mitsumi, who over time told us about how the three of us had known each other 15 years before hand." "Mitsumi also hinted quite a few times that Naru was the real promised girl." Keitaro sighed and stopped for a minute, Seta almost asked for him to continue when the kettle went off, so Seta walked over and grabbed the tea, which gave Keitaro some more time to ponder to himself.  
  
Seta poured the tea and walked over to the table and set down the cups, Keitaro put his hands on it, and began to tell the rest of his story. "Well, at this point I had fallen head over heals with Naru and soon after, I passed my Tokyo U exams." "The next fall I had broken my leg and I feared that Naru would leave me so I told her that I loved her."  
  
Keitaro seemed unusually anxious now and took a long drink from his tea. "Well, she didn't respond to me, but I just assumed she was to afraid to tell me her true feelings like she always seemed to be." "Then, just a few hours ago she told me that she had no feelings for me, when she left me standing there on the stairs, at the point I ran away, met you and now were here..."  
  
Seta nodded knowing that he had heard the end of Keitaro's story. So he decided to ask a new question, "So, what do you plan to do now?" This surprised Keitaro and he really needed to think about how to answer that, so he sat there for a good ten minutes, drinking some tea occasionally, before finally giving an answer.  
  
"I really don't know Seta, I guess I'll finish school, maybe move out of the Hinata-Sou and live on my own in an apartment or in the dorms or something." "The only thing I truly wish now is to move away from that dorm, where all the memories will haunt me."  
  
Seta took his turn and sighed at this statement, and simply muttered "you haven't learned anything from the last two years have you." Keitaro was quite taken aback at this and was even a little angry at Seta for this.  
  
"What should have I learned, I tried following my heart and it failed, so shouldn't I just leave and move on?"  
  
"You fool, you're not moving on if you have to leave the place that has memories of it just to be able to cope." "You should have learned from all the conflict you met there that a bad thing does not mean the end of the world."  
  
Keitaro looked at him and shook his head, "I don't get what you're saying, and personally I'd rather just leave this as far as I can behind."  
  
Seta sighed once again and decided to finish the argument. "Well, I apparently can't change your mind right now, but hopefully over this trip you'll come to understand what I mean." "I also want you to know that I'll be here for you if you ever need someone to talk to and someone to help you get through something." "As long as I'm on this earth I welcome you to come and ask for assistance."  
  
Keitaro smiled and muttered something about being appreciative of the offer. Seta smiled in response and got up and began to clear away the cups and kettle. Keitaro continued to sit there and looked at the table with the lack of emotion he'd been showing for the last day.  
  
"Keitaro, you may want to get some sleep before we board the flight tomorrow, so go and take a nap on the couch if you wish, I'll be in my room if you need me." With that Seta left the room and Keitaro was alone.  
  
'What a day,' thought Keitaro. He walked over and fell onto the couch, where the worst day of his life up to that point came to a close.  
  
In the air over Okinawa...  
  
"Su, how close are we to the place where Mitsumi lives," asked the nervous Shinobu.  
  
"Were coming up on it, about 30 more seconds till we touch down." Su continued to monitor the equipment and said "were lucky that we got here before it got dark or else landing would be impossible."  
  
They continued to lower in elevation till the wheels touched down on the beach and they came to a stop in front of Mitsumi's house.  
  
Shinobu hopped out of the plane along with Motoko and Su and they walked up to the door. As they knocked on the door they heard some movement inside. A few seconds later the door opened and they all saw Mitsumi in the doorway.  
  
"Oh mi, oh my," she stated as she saw the three outside "what brings you guys here."  
  
Motoko was the first to respond "were looking for Urishima, have you heard from him." "We also believe Mr. Seta is with him because he had left on business just house before we got to Tokyo U."  
  
"Oh, Sarah is here and she talked to Mr. Seta a little while ago, do you wish to talk to her?"  
  
"You heard from Seta, well then let' go and talk to him quickly so maybe we can go and leave for where Sempai is this evening," pleaded Shinobu. The three of them walked into the house and ran into Sarah into the Kitchen.  
  
"Su, Shinobu, Motoko, what are you three doing here?"  
  
"Were here looking for Mr. Seta and Sempai," answered Shinobu.  
  
"Oh, there talking about going to Mongolia, but it was delayed and is leaving first thing in the morning," Sarah replied and continued. "They are currently staying at my dad's house and the dork and he are leaving at about 6 AM tomorrow."  
  
Su then looked around nervously and said "that's bad because it's too dark for us to take off so we'll have to wait for morning and they'll be gone by the time we can get to Tokyo most likely."  
  
The rest of them knew she was right but they decided to spend the night. Mitsumi was quite happy to hear that even more people were staying at her house. "Even though it's temporary, I'm glad that you're staying, the more the merri..." At that point she fell to the floor, unconscious, or she would have if Motoko hadn't quickly caught her.  
  
"Well, we had better go to sleep, we need to be up at the crack of dawn so we need to sleep as much as possible." Motoko set Mitsumi on her shoulder and carried her to her room. Su and Sarah ran to Sarah's room. This left Shinobu who walked into the living room, where she laid down on the couch with only one thought in her mind. 'Sempai, I wonder what your going through right now,' then her eyes closed and the world went black as she fell into sleep.  
  
It's done, I know it's a week late but it is a lot longer. I also needed some more time to write it because my schedule has been full. I really hope you have enjoyed it and I plan to update every week or two starting from this point on. It will all depend on how much homework I have during the week. Other then that I leave you with a great thanks for sticking with my story so far and I hope you look forward to the rest of the story. 


	4. Knocking on Heaven's Door

Here it is chapter 4. Glad that I have 16 reviews, not sure if that's a lot of reviews or not but am glad just the same. One thing that I think needs to be mentioned is the fact that in the reviews people keep talking about who they want Keitaro to end up with. While I am glad that people are into this fic enough to care, these kinds of expectations are going to end up disappointing some of the readers. So please just let the fic unfold, believe me, with somewhere between 20 and 30 more chapters planned for this thing, a lot is going to change before the end.  
  
On an interesting side note, I am seriously considering adopting this into a full length feature story. The characters and locations and ideas from Love Hina would change of course but the story idea would remain the same and I would create my own story that leads up to this point, which gives me more flexibility and also gives it more substance. For in depth comments, e-mail me at PsychoDragon_ofDoom@hotmail.com  
  
Tell me what you think of the idea, and don't worry I'll work on the fic as well.  
  
Sorry for the slow update, not my idea. Finals week paired with last chapter test of the tri week equals hell for me. I had 9 essays, 6 quizzes and 10 fucking tests in 12 days. Throw in a deadline for my schools magazine, brass choir and 3 band rehearsals before Italy. Along with conformation, this equals absolutely no time. Lucky for me though, the tri is now over and I may get another chapter up sometime later this week as well. I'm thinking Thursday or Friday ish.  
  
Thanks to these reviewers  
  
Vivi: So you like Shinobu and Mitsumi as choices then huh. They are great characters and they add a lot to the series and as it goes on will become more and more important along with Naru, Motoko and Seta as characters. (None of you even try guessing what's going to happen, it'll be way off.)  
  
Vash: Still with the whole Mot/Kei thing. Ah well, keep your hopes up because this fic is in its early stages, and a lot is going to happen. Also, thank you for reviewing after each chapter to keep me updated on ideas.  
  
Knights: Thank you for your 3rd review and your continued support. As for Mongolia, first, it has a very cool ancient history that has influence on all of Asia and most of Western Europe. Second, I'm 1/8 Mongolian so that influenced my decision as well.  
  
PotterMan1: glad you think its good and plan to update soon.  
  
J: Settle down, it is only a story. I will update every week to two weeks and as time permits of course. Overall, just glad you like the story and love to hear from you whenever you have some comment on the fic.  
  
Now a message from your local Hina girl:  
  
Naru: Hey, this is Naru here reminding all of you to sit back, and enjoy your fic. While reading, we advise you to keep your seat in its upright and locked position. Also, please keep all appendages inside the vehicle at all times. Also, at the end of your journey, please tell the pilot anything you enjoyed or disliked in a written review form. This is encouraged and we always look forward to your input to make this a better overall experience. Thank you in advanced.  
  
Nick: Well, a little different then I expected but it will do, I suppose, now on to your feature presentation.  
  
Niak: HAHAHA, that's fucking hilarious!!!  
  
Nick: ....Lets the start the fic...  
  
Chapter 4: Knocking on Heaven's Door  
  
Naru poked her head out from the bathroom; her eyes were red with tears at this point. She looked up and down the hall for any signs of the ever sneaky Kitsune. After making sure Kitsune was no where to be seen, Naru stepped outside of the door and walked into her room. Once inside she quickly locked the door, and then her eyes landed on the clock. The clock read the ominous time of 1:37 AM.  
  
"Holy shit, I was in the bathroom for the last 7 hours..." One look out the window confirmed this as it was now pitch black outside. Naru sighed and knew that she had to make good use of this time if she wanted to continue to avoid Kitsune from prying into the details of what happened to her and Keitaro. Looking back on it now, she still can't believe she had done what she did, but she needed too.  
  
At this point she decided to sneak downstairs and quick grab some food to satisfy her growing hunger. She slowly stepped down the stairs. Lucky for her, with the repairs to the Hinata-Sou just a few months prior to this, she was able to make it down the stairs without making any of the stairs squeak. She peered down the hall into the living room, and she could see an apparently drunk Kitsune asleep on the couch.  
  
'Well, at least I have something going for me,' she though as she walked past the couch and into the kitchen. She flicked on the light and moved to the fridge. She opened it up and grabbed a carton of milk, at which point she promptly dropped when she felt something come to rest on her shoulder.  
  
"You should make sure someone's really asleep before trying to sneak past them next time." Naru turned around and faced Kitsune who was looking at her very seriously. "Now, please sit down and tell me what happened between you and Keitaro."  
  
Naru turned to leave when Kitsune said that, but Kitsune grabbed a hold of her arm. "Naru, I'm your best friend and this is obviously hurting you greatly." "So tell me what is bothering you and then you can go and do whatever you want and I won't try to stop you." Naru finally conceded and walked over to the table and sat down.  
  
"Well," Naru sighed "where do you wish for me to begin?"  
  
Kitsune smiled inwardly at this 'at least were getting somewhere.' "Just tell me what happened this morning, and anything that might help me to solve this problem with the least amount of hurt feelings possible." Naru nodded and gave a half hearted smile as she looked at Kitsune. As far as Kitsune could tell though, she was staring right through her.  
  
Kitsune felt as if Naru was trapped inside herself, and no matter what she did it would always be so. Thoughts never did stop Kitsune though, so she went ahead and continued to push Naru to give some answers on the current situation.  
  
Naru on the other hand, felt like complete shit. Unlike Kitsune, she wasn't used to this 20 hour days, with 7 of those being crying. This really wore on her body and now she was extremely fatigued. The rings around her eyes seemed to grow darker by the minute and her body was in a complete slump. Even through all this though, she managed to pull out the words that Kitsune needed to hear.  
  
"Well, to begin, the reason Keitaro left was because I told him I had no feelings for him." She sighed after that and Kitsune had a scared look upon her face, she had no idea what to think. Naru, the one who could never decide anything, had told Keitaro she had no feelings for him. Sensing she had more to say though, Kitsune kept listening, ever attentive.  
  
"What I told him was not necessarily true though," Naru muttered as her eyes slowly sunk towards her lap. "I still do have feelings for him, but I know he can no longer be with me."  
  
Kitsune snapped at that "What do you mean you can't love him anymore, he's waited for you for 2 fucking years, what are you thinking Naru."  
  
Naru muttered to herself and then struggled to lift her head. When she finally met Kitsune's eyes, tears had begun to well up in her eyes. Tears began to flow freely from her eyes, as her body began to shut down from exhaustion. "Because, if I can't make up my, he needs to find someone better then me." With that her head hit her arms and came to rest. With that, all that could be heard were her sobs for Keitaro.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"NARU!" screamed Keitaro as he snapped awake from his fitful sleep. 'Oh, it was just a dream,' he thought as he kicked of his covers and sat up on the couch. He reached for his glasses, and slid them over the bridge on his nose. "I should have expected sleeping troubles, I mean, I never slept well before and now this happened."  
  
Keitaro had to admit something though; he did feel better after sleeping for a bit. "Maybe it helped me clear my head, I couldn't think at all before I slept, even if it was brief." Now that his mind had become clear, he needed to do something about his current situation.  
  
Keitaro began to walk around the house, and upon further inspection; he found an exit into the smaller backyard. He slowly walked out, still deep in thought, and he came to a rest, sitting cross legged on the ground. After a few minutes of resting there, he entered a near meditative state.  
  
Keitaro's mind began to fly into motion again, this time though, his thoughts were on what he should do now, not what could have been with the loss of Naru. After incoherent ideas for a while, his mind slowed down to a pace where he could begin to pick apart the problems which would definitely face him in the near future. This is when his mind became filled with memories, the ones that his friends had been with him in all of his happy times.  
  
Keitaro couldn't help but smile at this, as memories often are the most emotional part of us. 'I've had such a great time there, Seta really is right, I can't permanently leave the Hinata-Sou' 'I do need this vacation though, so I'll still leave with Seta, but it won't be for more then a few weeks.'  
  
Just then though, a new conflict arouse in Keitaro's mind as he had begun to drift away into his meditative state once more. He knew that once they heard about Naru and himself breaking apart and losing contact with each other, there would be a great backlash. It was quite possible for fights to start over the two of them breaking apart. Now Keitaro really felt bad, he didn't want any of his friends to argue over him, he just wanted them to be happy. 'Well, I must do something when I get back, or else the Hinata-Sou may become a bad place to live.'  
  
"Couldn't sleep, could ya part timer" chuckled Seta as Keitaro leaped into the air in surprise.  
  
"Seta, don't do that to me, you scared the living shit out of me." Keitaro was still panting, having been scared thoroughly from Seta.  
  
"Well, at least it looks like your feeling better today," Seta commented as Keitaro actually did have a small smile on his face, even if Keitaro wasn't happy about being scared.  
  
"Yeah," Keitaro said, now calming down "I realized that the future needs to be fixed, because fixing the past is imposable"  
  
"Now your learning, come on, lets go and buy you some stuff before we take-off in a few hours."  
  
Keitaro just looked at Seta dumbly for a moment, before realizing what he meant. He knew instantly that Seta was right though, he had forgotten to get anything before he took off, but he did have his wallet. So Seta's idea of getting new stuff sounded pretty good right then and there. So Seta slapped Keitaro on the back and they walked inside. Both of them getting ready for the big day ahead of them.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Down in Okinawa, a women clad in a training gi tossed in her sleep. In her dreams, all she could see in it was a man, running from her. All she could think about was catching this stranger. As if he was hiding something from her. No matter how hard she exerted herself though, he continued to outrun her. Then he stopped suddenly and turned to look at her. Then she realized it was Keitaro, and he was bleeding profusely from his arm. Then, looking down, she saw a long trail of blood extending back from whence they came.  
  
All the girl could do was watch as Keitaro pulled a knife from his belt, and with tears streaming down his face, stabbed himself in the temple. The blood shot out from the wound as the knife continued to penetrate the weak flesh on the side of him head. His glasses flew off of him, and Keitaro began to crumple, losing energy. The girl could only witness all this, and then his glasses came to a halt at her feet. Paralyzed, viewing this horrible atrocity, she looked down into the glasses, and she saw her own reflection. In the reflection though, the girl was crying over the loss of a loved one, now dying next to her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Down crept over the horizon, but it was slow this day. The gang of Shinobu, Motoko, Su, Mitsumi and Sarah all had gotten an early start in hopes of catching there target. The man named Keitaro, and they needed to hurry. Su had been first up and had positioned the plan for takeoff just as the others had gotten outside. Then, as the horizon began to lighten, Su gunned the engine, and the chase was on again.  
  
As the gang sat in the plane, they all watched as dawn broke. They had began the final flight towards Tokyo, where they all hoped Keitaro was still residing. Perhaps the most affected though, were Motoko, Mitsumi and Shinobu. All of which were trying to get the one they loved back. For them, they could never move fast enough, and it took all of there hope to get them through that ride in hope of getting to the man they loved.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Well, part timer, looks like we have everything we need for you." This was noted by a slightly anxious Seta, because there flight was rapidly approaching and they needed to hurry if they wasted anymore time.  
  
"Yeah, everything I need, but here lets just check out this last store." "I have a feeling that I need to go in here." Keitaro added as he stepped through the door, with the manager just beginning to get ready for business that day inside. The manager just looked up and smiled at the two customers, then went back to business.  
  
Keitaro thought at first that he must have been mistaken, because there seemed to be nothing of importance inside. As he continued to look though, he found a few things he might like on his trip. The first of which was a diary, which would be useful for sorting his thoughts. The second was a new pair of glasses, much sportier and modern then his current ones. He just smiled and picked them up, somehow he knew this was one of the images he needed to leave behind in his old life, so this seemed a good thing to get.  
  
Then, walking down the last row in the store, he noticed something that called out to him. Sitting there amidst all the modern things found in a convenience store, was an ancient sword. It seemed to pulse in front of him, with a faint aura that seemed to blend the ki's of ying and yang as one. The sign below the sword read The Sword of Hope, and below it lay an inscription.  
  
"Further down your path is darkness and despair, yet it can be overcome. Search for the light at the end the works with the forces of darkness, not against them. Only by understanding and moving with your enemies can you defeat them. This is why your mind, body and soul must fight as a fluid being, and crash into your enemies with a torrent of strength. Only this way will you find your true road, where you and those you love will be safe. This is your true desire and your ultimate goal in life."  
  
Keitaro just looked wide eyed at the inscription, and he knew what he must do. He needed to take up the sword that he had forgotten in keeping his promise of making it to Tokyo U for Naru. Now that he had succeeded, it was time he took back the sword` and continued to gain strength. For now he had those he loved and cared for back at the Hina house, so it was his job to do all he could to protect them from harms way.  
  
Keitaro, stood there and smiled as Seta walked up to him and smacked him on the back. "Found what your looking for part-timer?" Keitaro just nodded and picked up the sword as if it was a new-born baby. He took it along with the glasses and the journal, and walked up to the owner.  
  
The owner just smiled and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Something told Keitaro though that there was more to this guy then he knew, but he decided it was unimportant now. So he took his things and stepped into the world, with a new goal in life. He would be the protector of the Hina estates, now all he needed was to go with Seta. There he would retrain his body and then he could finally sort out his feelings. From then on, he would be settled into his new life, with his old loved friends.  
  
At least he hoped so......  
  
There we go, and I am so going to regret this. It's now 12 AM and I have school tomorrow. Ah well, at least I can sleep in first hour, that will give me enough energy to get through the day.  
  
Now, as for the fic, I ended it a bit early, and I changed from my original plan. This chapter was originally going to end one scene change later, but this seems to work quite well so I have no problems with this setup.  
  
Now, I'm hoping that this will update by 7 AM tomorrow so you will all get a good chance to read it and then I can get your reviews. This allows me to get some inspiration which hopefully will get me the energy along with some spare time to update again by Saturday night.  
  
Now, some things I should have included earlier but will do now.  
  
(note, thank you Vash for this creative and vary kind idea)  
  
Fics to check out:  
  
Last Dance With Shinobu-Chan by Project Pegasus  
May be my favorite fic ever, quite possibly the most heart felt thing I have read. Especially great for those who love the character Shinobu.  
  
5/5  
  
And Life Goes On by Yamiga'sLight  
My other choice for favorite fic. Has very descriptive storyline and is one of the few writers who has made Naru into an incredibly likable character. Enjoy this one and can't wait for the end.  
  
5/5  
  
Same Story, Different Guy by RPGer  
This is one of the more creative stories, it has 2 inserted characters at this point and continues to make me laugh. The author has a great sense of humor and he updates often, so check it out, this is greatly under appreciated and great work for a first fic.  
  
3.9/5  
  
Loss and Redemption by Hawker-748  
An author who I have great respect for after reading this fic. Has made the part of the Love Hina story where Motoko and Keitaro are forced to marry if they lose a very interesting plot line. Still in the early stages and continuing to improve.  
  
4.2/5  
  
Steel Wings of the Phoenix by Vash the Unholy  
This is a great fic on its second chapter, but Vash is one of the largest contributors to the Love Hina fan fiction scene. So check out this writer if you have not and see where he takes this new fic. Also, this is where the idea for recommendations of other Fics from, which is something nice that I should have done long ago.  
  
4/5 (will change with time for sure, too early to be sure)  
  
Nick: OK, that's all for that, now I'm signing off before I'm declared an insomniac along with everything else that's wrong with me. Niak: Hey that's no way to talk about an imaginary friend  
  
Nick: Your not a friend when you won't leave me the fuck alone and you hate me.  
  
Kitsune: Nick, stop with the whole Niak thing, just beat the crap outta him.  
  
Nick: How, he lives inside my head, and has for the last 3 years.  
  
Naru: Why do I work for you, first you screw up my relationship with Keitaro and now you've gone bonkers.  
  
Su: Maybe I can help, Niak sounds nummy, I want to meet and eat him.  
  
Nick: I'm going now....  
  
(Su and Naru chasing after me, ain't that fun.)  
  
Kitsune: Well as the "helper" person here, I guess all I can say is that were trying to fix this problem here and that you must read and review. I am Rudy Juliany, do as I say. (for those who don't know, that was Kitsune doing a corny rip-off on the Simpson's)  
  
Niak: HAHAHAHA, I love all you crazy people. Hell, you make me look sane.  
  
Nick: Just end this thing so I can get out of here.  
  
I wonder about myself sometimes, maybe I really am that fucked up. Ah well, doesn't matter I guess, just need to keep working on the fic for you. If I work on the fic though, you need to do me the favor or be loyal readers and reviewers. Any comments, compliments or flames are greatly wanted. So you better submit your reviews ASAP. 


	5. Back to good

Hey, it's me. I'm back and I got 6 reviews, which isn't half bad so I'll go with it. Right now I'm half dead after a long week of school, but what the hell. I can still see and I promised you an update so you'll get one by Saturday night/Sunday mourning. That said I do have one comment to make. These are my rules for the average fanfic reader.  
  
1. Review: if you have an opinion on the fic, review it. Tell him about good and bad things. Tell him improvements he could make, and most importantly, tell him the connections you have made to the fic. These things mean more to an author then any reader could understand. They took the time to write this for you. If it was for them they wouldn't have posted it anyway, so since you get to enjoy reading, give them input.  
  
2. Flame nicely: There is nothing wrong with disliking a fic. When you comment on it though, take the time to word your response in a way that helps the author's writings. This may turn a crappy fic into a kick ass one in time.  
  
3. Multiple reviews: Check in with the author every few chapters. Let him know what changes have happened that you like and dislike.  
  
4. Read the recommendations: For authors such as Vash, Gotenks and I, who recommend other fics, please check them out. We did not post bad fics for you to read. We also did not post them just for our own good. Please look at our advice and use them. Not only are we authors, but we are fellow readers.  
  
I know this may sound big of me, but it's true. Every author wants his work to be looked at and to be critiqued. No author is ever satisfied with there work, even if you think it's perfect. This is why you must give him your input, because many good authors have quit because they felt there work was under appreciated. It is best if you take the minutes it takes to review, compared to the hours it took them to post the fic hat you enjoyed.  
  
Thank you to these 6 reviewers.  
  
Vash: Glad you like this chapter. Overall, I think I finally got what I wanted for this fic in the last chapter. So now all that's left is the wild ride ahead. Also, you are important to Love Hina, your one of the better authors and you tend to be one of the most common reviewers.  
  
Knights: Hey, back again, back again. Glad you like the sword of hope, I actually added it at the last second because I realized there was a big fucking plot hole to fill and this should take care of it. Likely, I would have preferred a cooler sounding weapon.  
  
Kei: Mot/Kei again, ah well. Just hang on for the ride and try to enjoy it. Not making any promises to anyone who reads this about who Keitaro or anyone else is ending up with. That is for me to know and you to find out through my literary abilities. Also, I'm glad for your second review to this story.  
  
Shigure: Don't worry, you'll see more. Thanks for the compliment as well.  
  
Gotenks: Wow, you wrote a long and detailed review that told me a lot of information. Thank you so much. That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for all your input and hopefully other people will catch on to your style.  
  
Android: Glad you like it, and I plan to update often in the next few weeks. As for the overall length, it'll probably be 30-40 chapters overall. Which will be somewhere around 100,000 words, maybe nearing 120,000.  
  
Ok, on to the fic, which I actually am getting to you rather quickly.  
  
Chapter 5 - Back to Good  
  
"Flight 202 from Tokyo to Beijing and on to Ulan Bator will be departing shortly. All persons who sit in rows 10 through 27 please check your bags and board the plane now." This voice snapped Keitaro out of his meditation, which was a little weird, considering he was in the middle of an airport.  
  
"That sword really mean something to you, doesn't it Keitaro." Seta said as he watched Keitaro come to with the sword resting in his palms.  
  
"More then I thought it would, the feeling of the ki gives me a connection I haven't felt before, as if this sword was made for me." Keitaro's voice faded as his eyes began to focus on the sword and his mind began to chant the word "Ki" repeatedly inside his head. Growing stronger and causing himself to lose all focus.  
  
Keitaro then felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to Seta who was now grabbing his bags and lifting Keitaro to his feet. "Come on now, we need to get going. You can see the sword when we get to Mongolia." Keitaro nodded as he set the sword into his bag and zipped it up. They handed there bags to the flight attendant who checked there bags. Then the two of them walked onto the plane, where there next journey would await them.  
  
************  
  
Naru's eyes slowly opened and took in her current location. She was back inside her room, her Liddo-chan sitting next to her head. 'Kitsune-san must have helped me up here last night; I should thank her for everything she has done for me.' Naru sat up, and felt her back creak as her body adjusted to the rapid movement. She stretched herself out and climbed out of bed.  
  
"That's odd, I feel much better today," she said to no one in particular. She got up and walked out of her room, where she became face to face with a black cat.  
  
"AEIIIIIIIIIII," Naru screamed as she jumped backwards, tripping and falling in the process. She rolled and came to rest on her futon. She looked up at the invader to her home, not sure of what to make of it. Looking at the cat sitting there on the floor, her eyes came to rest on a pair of feet. As her eyes moved upward she saw a young girl with black hair. She had never seen this girl before and was quite peeved that she was in here without asking. Already upset about Keitaro leaving just the day before, she was in no mood to deal with new people.  
  
"What do you think your doing here, this is a private residence and you are far to young to be friends with Kitsune, so why are you inside of this house." The young part was very true; she appeared to be around the age of 18 or 19 while Naru was now 21 and Kitsune had turned 23 just a few months before.  
  
The girl stared at Naru and smirked at her, and the smirk had no hint of friendship behind it. "I should have known it would take a girl like you to chase of my Oni-san." Kanoko just continued to stare at Naru with a piercing glare as she continued. "You just made him leave and forget about this entire house, and now that the rest of them have gone to look for him, you sit here and sulk."  
  
Naru's rage continued to build, and the next comment snapped her already stretched will. "You just toyed with his emotions, and never had any caring for him at all." That did it for Naru; she took two quick steps over to the unsuspecting girl and slapped her across the face with all the strength her fatigued body could muster.  
  
"You have no idea what your talking about, how would you know what's been going on here anyway." The girls head slowly returned to its normal position after being tossed around by Naru's forceful blow. She still had that smirk on her face, as if she knew everything that had, was and is going to happen. It definitely didn't make Naru feel any better. "Maybe I don't Naru, but you'll have to prove it to me before I'll let you off the hook."  
  
The girl walked down the hall, and ended the current argument with one final comment. "By the way, the names Kanoko, and I'm Keitaro's sister and he means more to me then you could ever know." With that she left for the stairway, leaving Naru in her room.  
  
"Great, more shit continues to pile up against me," was all Naru thought as she went back inside her room, and prepared for the day of hell ahead of her.  
  
************  
  
'Sempai, why did you leave the others?' 'Was it really Naru who drove you away, or is it more then that?' 'Maybe I am to blame in this situation as well?' Shinobu kept thinking these thoughts over and over, how could she not though. Her personality had always been very self conscious and her love for Keitaro had left her venerable.  
  
The others thoughts were just as jumbled and betraying of there feelings for him. None of them cared anymore though, they knew that the man that they loved was away from them, and they needed to get him back. They all had the same unspoken omniscient feeling looming over there heads as well.  
  
Even Su had this feeling and she just focused on flying the plane to Tokyo, focused on saving her "brother". This made her become very calm, as if she were building up her energy inside her to whether a coming storm or some other force.  
  
The one who might have been affected the most though, was Motoko, who just stared into space. She held onto her sword as she kept replaying her dream in her mind. How could she possibly deal with something like that if that actually came to be?  
  
Motoko then felt a slight burst of ki registering in her brain, she looked down and saw it was coming right for where they were going, Tokyo International Airport. This burst of ki registered with her again, this time though, it had shifted slightly.  
  
"Something's wrong, I can feel something in disarray down there." Motoko continued to focus on the airport as the other passengers came out of there daze. Shinobu and Mitsumi rushed over next to her and looked down at the airport.  
  
"Nothing appears wrong to me," said Shinobu, with a slight bit of doubt it her voice. Then she saw it, two swirling forms of ki. It was very faint for her, mostly because she had only gotten light practice in reading ki, but she could make it out.  
  
It appeared to her as if there were two pulsing energies, both of them apparently sentient. Both of them also seemed to slowly change form, as if they were trying to match each other. What Shinobu couldn't figure out though was why Motoko was so nervous.  
  
"Motoko, I see it but what is going on that puts you on edge," was all Shinobu could ask. Motoko simply looked at her, a distant and drained look in her eyes.  
  
"Simple, that energy you are sensing is none other then your sempai's, only it has been warped since we last saw him." This was all Motoko said before turning and taking her seat in the plane. She then pushed herself deep into thought, and was oblivious to the world.  
  
Shinobu on the other hand was flipping out to put it lightly. "Sempai, don't change, I just want my sempai to be okay." Shinobu was almost reduced to tears at that thought, and she knelt down to keep herself from fainting.  
  
Mitsumi walked over and sat next to Shinobu, then put her arm over the young women's shoulder. "Don't worry about him, Keitaro always manages to pull out of every situation perfectly fine and keeps us safe as well." This brought up memories for the both of them, and Shinobu lost it. She began to cry into Mitsumi's shoulder, with her tears streaming down her cheeks and Mitsumi's shirt.  
  
Mitsumi just held her as she looked down at the airport they were fast approaching. "Keitaro, please be ok, even I am worried in you at this point." "Something feels far too amiss for this to be another adventure."  
  
They began there decent, all the while hoping they could catch Keitaro in time.  
  
***************  
  
"Keitaro, you all set?" asked Seta as he took his seat next to Keitaro.  
  
"Yeah, I'm ready to get this adventure started." Keitaro didn't sound totally convinced though, and all the while he kept looking out the window. Just then the plane began to taxi out to the runway, and they aligned themselves so they can takeoff. The seatbelt lights flip on as the engines begin to whir.  
  
All the while Keitaro keeps watching out the window as the plane begins to gather speed. The sound of the engines is now deafening as the world whips by. Then, time slows for Keitaro as he notices a small plane landing on the runway next to his. Piloting it is none other then Su.  
  
Upon further examination he sees Motoko, Mitsumi, Sarah, and Shinobu all aboard the plane. Then time accelerates as the plane leaves the ground, leaving his friends long behind him.  
  
"Su, Sarah, Motoko, Mitsumi, Shinobu..." was all Keitaro muttered as he watches them vanish from sight. The entire city begins to shrink as they fly higher into the sky, leaving his past life behind him.  
  
'I'm sorry,' was all he thought as he left them behind 'but I need to do this to restructure my life, or else the Keitaro you know will be gone forever.'  
  
End Chapter 5  
  
Next Chapter: Kryptonite  
  
Now that he was alone, he could examine his sword once more. The feeling pulsed out to him again. The perfect balance between yin and yang, which molded into his very being. He then held the sword before him, and he could see his entire path which lay before him. From his strengths to his weaknesses, to his friends and enemies. Most disturbing of all though, was the bright light which illuminated the path that his dreams followed.  
  
Nick: Hey, how'd you like it?  
  
Kitsune: I didn't have any lines this chapter, how could you do that to me.  
  
Nick: Uh, I told you during contract negotiations that this was a smaller fic for you. Why are you so surprised?  
  
Kitsune: Would have helped if you hadn't gotten me drunk before those so called contract negotiations.  
  
Nick: Eh, well, excuse me.  
  
A/N: Hey out of the story world now, just want to say that this fic has been moving along at a reasonable pace. Not fast by any measure but time has been scarce for me. Just hope that you're enjoying yourselves and that you continue to R and R.  
  
Kanoko: Hey Nick  
  
Nick: Gah, what the fuck are you doing here?  
  
Kanoko: Someone else gave you the idea to include me so they can keep me both inside and outside the story world.  
  
Nick: Yeah, ok, so, why are you here.  
  
Kanoko: Just wanted to make sure I'm ending up with my Oni-chan.  
  
Nick: Uh, about that, you're gonna be much less evil in this to make sure you don't destroy my fic in the process. (Grabs remote)  
  
Kanoko: No stop...  
  
Nick: Too late (flips dial from 7 to 2)  
  
Kanoko: No, I'm OOC now.  
  
Nick: Yep, and now you're my character and you're inside the story until I let you back out.  
  
Enough of this, on to the recommendations  
  
The Kiss That Never Was by Paul T1 This is one of the classics in the R section; I'm sure most of you have read it. If not, do yourself a favor and read it. 4.8/5  
  
To Be a Warrior or a Women by Gotenks01013 This is written by the same Gotenks that read my fic so here's a shout out to you. Your fic is doing well and hope that it continues to chug along. 3.9/5  
  
How Close is It? By Lifelessdummy/Grandmoff  
  
This is a fic from Shoujoai.net that was one of the great ones there, and now we have it. It's the start of a great series and the best shoujoai I have read. It's one of the best pairings as well with Motoko and Shinobu, both being great characters. If you want to know how it goes just pop on over and check out the Love Hina section. 4.6/5  
  
That's all for today, so see you next week or whenever I take the time to update. Should be soon though; want 2 updates before I go to Italy next Wednesday. 


	6. Krptonite

Hey, I'm back from Italy, and I hope I find you all in good spirits. I had a great time out there but I really want to get back to the fic.  
  
As for the fic, some concern has been expressed that I may run out of ideas and the fic might falter if I try to keep up my proposed length. All I can say is that this fic has been running through my mind in bits and pieces for the last 2 months now. All I'm doing is piecing it together in written form. The reason it takes so long to post each chapter is the fact that I find very little time to sit down and write. With HW, work, a light social life and other hobbies, this becomes a balancing act of sorts. I do plan to make this my top priority though with my favorite online game just ending so I can't play any more, I need something else to devote my time. So after I return from Italy, I plan to devote much more time to my writing.  
  
Hopefully this is good news for you, now thanks to the 5 reviews for this chapter and the 1 review for two chapters that was posted mere minutes after I updated my fic.  
  
Also, I updated the first chapter and will rewrite every chapter eventually to clean it up and add more detail. Believe me; I miss some things considering I almost entirely write at 2AM in the morning or later.  
  
This fic is brought to you by Reviewers like You  
  
Vash: You hate Naru way to fucking much man. Ah well, you won't like the new fic I'm gonna start, in that one Naru and Keitaro are actually together. Also, try not to in injure your ego to much; that can lead to the "DARK SIDE" (Niak comes in with baseball bat)  
  
Niak: Stop with the corny Star Wars rip offs already! *beats me with baseball bat* sorry about that, what he meant was that if you kill your ego, you'll end up with me hehehe.  
  
Knights Shadow: Addressed your first point up above. Other then that, glad you keep reviewing.  
  
Kei: Your wait is over I guess  
  
Neo Mog: sorry I missed ya, well, Thanks for the first review and I hope to see more  
  
Shigure: Hey again, and yes the plot is indeed thickening like bread dough  
  
Gotenks: Glad you like the recommendation, as for Shinobu, I kinda have this feeling that everyone in the Hinata-Sou has picked up some skills or knowledge from each other member. One of those things would be Motoko's ability to read ki. While not that strong, she can sense it faintly.  
  
Mantis: Hey, thanks for the review and glad you're in your LH phase again. Now I need to get obsessed. Thanks for the concerns with my writing, can always use ideas of where to improve my writing.  
  
Drifter: Hey, your first review. I also hope that this next chapter is as strong as my last few.  
  
Now on to the fic:  
  
Chapter 6 – Kryptonite  
  
"Koalla, Keitaro's in that plane that's taking off," screams Motoko as the plane begins to fade into the distance. Koalla jumps to attention at this and turns to Shinobu.  
  
"Shinobu, take the wheel for me, don't land it quite yet though." Shinobu runs to do her task as Su reaches under a seat and pulls out a large weapon that appears to be a large rocket launcher. She points it at Keitaro's plane and pulls the trigger. The missile flies out of the launcher as Su flies in the other direction.  
  
Now keep in mind Su did this in a few seconds, so everyone else just stood in shock as this occurred. Luckily for the flying Su, Motoko was able to recover in time and grabbed her before she flew out of the open seated airplane.  
  
"Su, what did you just do," screamed Motoko "I just wanted you to stop him or something like that." To this Su just looked questioningly, as if she didn't know what Motoko was talking about. Then Mitsumi gasped as they heard an explosion. Motoko happened to be looking in the other direction and snapped around to see what had happened, fearing the worst.  
  
Much to her surprise though, the missile had exploded long before reaching Keitaro's now departing airplane. From the explosion, another projectile appeared. This one was blinking red and it followed the plane where it attached itself under the left wing.  
  
Motoko and the other 3 girls just stare at it and turn around to see a joyful Su. "Yay, my new invention was a complete success." Su continued to jump around with cheerful spirits. The rest just looked at her dumbly.  
  
Well, everyone except Mitsumi of course. "Ara, what was that thing you shot at Kei-kun." Shinobu and Motoko visibly winced at the mention of her "Kei-kun" but they did there best to hide it. Su on the other hand just smiled and no body knew at this point how she could possibly be any happier, but they all were used to it.  
  
"Simple, it's a Keitaro tracking device that I made at Mitsumi's last night." The rest of the group simply exchanged looks and shrugged. They didn't sweat the details anymore when it came to Su.  
  
Then, Shinobu happened to realize a problem. "Uh, Su, if were all here, who's flying the plane right now." All of then turned around to see the plane falling from 200 ft above the ground. Su, Shinobu, and Motoko all made a wild jump for it, with all of them blocking each other from the control panel.  
  
Mitsumi managed to walk over and grab the controls just fine somehow though. "Ara, what do I do now?" she questioned as the plane continued its uncontrolled descent.  
  
"Just pull up!" they all screamed as the ground was nearing them more by the second. So Mitsumi pulled up, but it was too late to avoid the crash. Lucky for the girls though, Mitsumi stopped the descent the plane skidded across the runway, coming to a stop.  
  
Unlucky for the girls though, was the fact that crashing into the ground in an open aircraft is quite bad. After one or two skids on the ground, every occupant on the plane was heaved out.  
  
Motoko felt herself flying through the air as she neared the ground. When her body first connected with the pavement, she blacked out, leaving the world behind her.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Naru got moving throwing off her cloths she had worn for the past two days. Then she looked at herself in the mirror, and was quiet horrified at what she was seeing. The girl in the reflection was gaunt and had bags under her eyes that seemed to go on forever. She hadn't realized what the emotion that had torn from her body had done to her. She held in her tears at that point and promised herself that she needed to stick to her decision.  
  
"I gave up Keitaro, now I must go through with it." Was what her thought line appeared to follow; "So, I need to go with that decision and move on with my life."  
  
Still the question remained, "is this the right path to choose?" With that she let her head sink once again as she routinely redressed herself and headed to the kitchen, wondering what the new girl would do when Naru made her appearance that day.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Kitsune couldn't help but wonder about the appearance of this new girl. Where she had come from, she had no idea. She also was flabbergasted at how she had gotten into the home. Still, she could tell she had some special relationship with Keitaro, she just didn't know what.  
  
Currently, the girl, Kanoko was what Kitsune thought her name was, was currently sitting across the table from herself. She was deep in thought, and staring out of a window to her side.  
  
Kitsune cleared her throught, trying to get Kanoko's attention. This had no effect though, so Kitsune tried a more direct approach.  
  
"Uh, Kanoko, why did you come here anyway?"  
  
Kanoko turned and blinked at Kitsune for a moment, as if just realizing she was in the room.  
  
"Oh, well, if you really must know, I came to take my brother back." "He's been gone quite a long time, so my family really needs him to be home, especially since he has been accepted into Tokyo U."  
  
Kitsune was taken aback to this. She had no idea that Keitaro's parents wanted him home. After getting over the split second of shock, she knew she had to divert this girls intentions or Keitaro may not be here much longer.  
  
"Why should Keitaro go home, he's perfectly fine here and his parents threw him out in the first place?"  
  
"Simple, my parents were trying to motivate him into making right decisions." "Now that he managed to achieve his goals though, there is no point to him staying out and costing our parents more money."  
  
"How does it cost you more money?" asked a confused Kitsune. As far as she could remember, Keitaro had been living off of some of the rent he collected from the tenants, herself included.  
  
"How blind are you," responded Kanoko "Keitaro wouldn't have any spending money if he didn't get money from his family." "He doesn't have a job or anything so there's no other place it could come from."  
  
Kitsune realized this point was indeed correct, but what she didn't understand is why this would lead Keitaro's parents into the idea to bring there son home, he was the owner of a respected family Inn and he was a Tokyo U student.  
  
"Why bring him home, he is an adult and should be responsible for his own life."  
  
"If that's what you believe, then let him get a job on his own and spend the rest of his time working on his college life." "He can't live in this inn forever."  
  
This is when Kitsune got a real smack in the face. More so then any argument so far, the fact that Keitaro wouldn't be there forever chilled her to the bone. Kitsune just watched Kanoko, as she stood up, spun on one heel, and proceeded to leave the room.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Naru proceeded down the steps, now dressed for the day. She had taken the time to brush her hair out and even applied some make-up to hide the fact that she had been crying for the last day and a half now.  
  
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran into Kanoko, who had a look of triumph and one of anger written on her face. Kanoko looked her once over and then proceeded to give her an offer.  
  
"What do you say to coming with me and going after Keitaro, that way we can return him to the Hinata-Sou and you can prove to me I don't know what I am talking about."  
  
Naru just blinked to this as she stood, shocked at the very idea of chasing Keitaro. Something in her head told her to just go with her instinct though, and chase her lost love. So she nodded at Kanoko as she ran to her room and threw a simple travel bag together.  
  
She finished packing the bare essentials and then returned to the entrance of the inn. There Kanoko, her cat, and Tama-chan were waiting for her. As they tore through the door they chased after a man they both cared for deeply, yet they had no idea where he was.  
  
*****  
  
"Flying, it always seems so long and tedious for what you get in the end." These were the random ideas floating through Keitaro's mind as he watched the land hover beneath him as they continued to there final destination.  
  
Next to Keitaro's shoulder, was his mentor Seta, who was currently fast asleep. This left Keitaro preoccupied with his own thoughts, which was not a good thing considering the events that had occurred as of late.  
  
For you see, the more Keitaro went over the past few days, the more he began to doubt himself. He was at a totally new beginning, with the last 2 years left behind him as a waste along with the 17 year promise.  
  
After much thought over the long flight, he came to one final conclusion. 'I need a new promise, something to give my life meaning or motivation.' After pondering some more he finally came up with a promise with himself. 'I know what it must be, I promise to continue my life with those who's lives he had become entangled in over the last 2 years.'  
  
'More then that, I shall stay by there side and do what I must to protect them from any harm that I can.' 'Finally, I need to actually begin college and get my degree, that way I may be able to create my own life.' Content with this plan, the exhaustion of the past few days slammed into him as he quickly drifted to sleep, and it relieved his troubled mind from his troubles.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The plane ride came to a stop when they touched down in Mongolia's main airport, but the adventure for the two archaeologists' was just beginning. As they got out of the airport, they both walked out, Seta in the lead and Keitaro following. They both hopped in a taxi and they took off for the excavation site which happened to be 300 miles away.  
  
Keitaro stared out of the window watching the Mongolian countryside fly past as they drove through the country. Then a realization hit Keitaro 'this is the first time I've intentionally traveled to a different country.' With that he sighed though, for he found no matter what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling that he should be here with the girls.  
  
They really are my family now and I just left them behind with a second thought till it was too late. Keitaro kept thinking along these lines till he drifted to sleep still tired from the long day he'd just gone through.  
  
Seta on the other hand, simply watched Keitaro as he had a fitful sleep. He seemed lost in a dream in which there was no escape. Seta could fully understand though, looking back on it. He had gone through much in his own life, having to choose between two women he both loved dearly being the first that came to mind.  
  
It went much deeper then that though, for shortly after getting married to the women he chose, she fell ill and died. This happened long before his passion for Haruka died though, but he also knew that it was unrealistic to ever believe she would ever return his love again.  
  
To fill the gap in his life, he adopted Sara and they made a family of sorts. He stayed in America to raise Sara for quite some time, but he knew he must return to the Hinata-Sou where this road surly lead. So after 5 years he did, that's when he met Keitaro who reminded him much of himself.  
  
'Surprising how it seems that fate is running out of ideas,' thought Seta as he continued to watch Keitaro sleep. 'In my lifetime I meet a young boy who is leading a nearly identical path in life; I just hope his turns better for him.' Seta laughed and continued his usual way of lightening situations 'or if not I'll give fate a piece of my mind.'  
  
* * * * *  
  
Now, while Seta and Keitaro knew where they were going, the girls on there trail were not so lucky. They had followed the plane easy enough, thanks to Su, but the trail ran cold at that point. "Well, now what," asked a slightly annoyed Motoko as they wandered around the airport looking for some clue of where to find Keitaro and Seta.  
  
'This has not been my day,' thought Motoko as they continued to search the airport. First we spend hours chasing after Keitaro and then we end up unconscious on the runway till the runway crew came to our rescue and woke us up.' 'Also, they helped Su fix the plane, which was about the only good thing that happened.'  
  
Now she sighed as her story continued to run through her mind 'now we got the plane fixed just to get lost in another countries airport, what luck we have.' She continued to walk with the others till Su spotted a map of Mongolia on one off the walls.  
  
"Look, maybe we can find out where Keitaro is from that!" Su lead the others to it and they began to search the map for any clue. Su continued to be her usual self by examining from the ceiling. "Now if I were a Keitaro, where would I be?"  
  
The rest choose to ignore her and concentrate on there own search up until Motoko felt a hand come to rest on her should. Her initial reaction to draw her sword was halted, mostly because she couldn't have it in the open at an airport, also because a man, who appeared to be just an innocent Mongolian citizen, was the culprit.  
  
So instead of reverting to her usual tactic of kill first and ask questions later, she simply sighed and turned to look the man in the eyes. "May I help you," was all she said, the problem was she only knew Japanese.  
  
The man simply smiled and in perfect Japanese responded "you ladies appear to be lost, are you in need of some help?"  
  
Now this really took Motoko aback, and her normal views of strange men began to change quickly. "Yes, we do in fact, were looking for a friend but we don't know where in this country he is."  
  
"Hmm, I see, that is a mighty big problem," he lamented as he looked them over. "Tell you what, how about we go get a bite to eat and then we can discuss this problem further."  
  
"Food!" was the only sound that was responded, this by an overly energetic and hungry Su. She then jumped straight at there new acquaintance and they proceeded to fall to the floor in a heap.  
  
Motoko and Shinobu rushed to the poor man's aid, after they pulled him to his feet and pried Su off; Shinobu had a question she needed to ask. "What is your name?" she asked, blushing profusely in doing so.  
  
The man just laughed at the girls reaction, "don't be so shy about it, you have every right to know." He then continued "My name is Martin and I guess I am your tour guide in Mongolia."  
  
End Chapter 6  
  
Welcome to the end of the toughest two weeks going into the toughest 3 weeks of my life. I finally found a break to finish this chapter up and I hope to get 1 more update before my AP tests. After those are done updates will resume at faster then normal speed till the end of the summer.  
  
As for the preview not lining up with the chapter, I had a change in plans and stretched this chapter out a bit and slowed the plot (Mantis's idea)  
  
One more note, I plan to reissue A Compromising Situation sometime in the next month and a half and have it released through chapter 5. Chapters 1 and 2 will also be rewritten for more detail and better format.  
  
That's all from me, now here are 2 recommendations before I head out.  
  
Spring's Gift by Fanficzgrl  
  
This is a story of Naru and Shinobu fighting for Keitaro's heart. It is already an epic in length and in only on part 1 of 4. Only problem is slow update times.  
  
4.2/5  
  
Another Promise by Motoko Aoyama  
  
This is the story of the growing passion between Motoko and Keitaro as they learn that there differences will not necessarily keep them from each other.  
  
4/5  
  
Plus one change to a former recommendation  
  
Same guy, Different story by RPGer  
  
You all know this one and I just need to redo the score because these last two weeks have made me realize that he puts out high quality work at an absolutely astounding pace.  
  
4.5/5  
  
That's it and I hope my life gets easier here before I go completely insane, also if you see and places where my fic seems to conflict with itself in this chapter tell me so I can change it, I was half sick, and can't remember what I was going to write when I started this chapter 2 weeks ago.  
  
And I'm out. 


	7. Falling for the First Time

Hey, back with an early update and I hope that you are all well. If you aren't, that might explain why I only got 3 reviews.  
  
I know that was kinda mean, but ah well. I'm just kinda disappointed that I only got 3. I mean, I know there are others who get less. For the most part, people who post more then 5 chapters do tend to get quite a few reviews per chapter. If it's temporary, I'm sorry and if I'm being a selfish asshole I'm sorry. I just feel a little frustrated after working so hard to find the time for that fic and only getting a small reply.  
  
As for the fic goes though, part one is beginning to reach its end. This really is a prelude though, setting up the situation for the rest of the story. A lot of events need to happen to reach that point so that's why I am writing this part. The real story and inspiration for me is going to kick in for parts two and most important is the ending with part three.  
  
Here's a thanks to my 3 reviews.  
  
RPGer: Glad to get another review from you, keep your fic going and I'll try to use your pace as a motivator.  
  
Demonic: Glad you had time to read this and give me your first review. I appreciate the support; it came at the best time possible.  
  
Mantis: I know you left a review, and will leave one later if I don't get it. Just glad that you appreciate me trying to keep it IC. Hopefully the following chapters will give you the amount of detail you want me to put into it.  
  
Now, without further stalling, on to the fic which is only read by a few.  
  
Chapter 7: Falling for the first time  
  
Keitaro was walking through a hazy wood, on a lone path surrounded by towering trees. For some reason though, the path moved on its own. So even if Keitaro stopped moving it continued to propel him forward. Even if he tried running against it he would still be moving just fast enough forward to never move in the other direction.  
  
For now though, he just moved with it. 'What could it hurt' thought Keitaro 'wherever I'm going I'll get too eventually. For quite some time he moved on this path, until he came to a fork in the road. It seemed as if the road stopped moving beyond the fork, but what really caught his eye were the people he saw along each fork.  
  
To the right he saw the entire Hinata-Sou there in the background. Standing at its front steps were the residents waving him over. Even Seta was there; shovel in hand, ready for the next big dig. The thing was, almost everyone was there.  
  
For on the left path, he saw a long ever darkening path. And Naru, his Naru was running down it into the growing darkness.  
  
"Naru" screamed Keitaro as he tore down that path after her. She didn't respond, she just kept running, never coming any closer.  
  
As Keitaro looked to his side, he could see nothing but darkness. Finally he paused to look behind him, and the path was gone. He was stuck on this path, and his only hope was to catch Naru.  
  
So he took off after her once again, determined to catch her, even though he knew it was hopeless. He would eventually tire, yet she would continue to run from him forever. Just then he tripped over a rock in the path, and as he tumbled to earth he screamed for Naru one last time. The he slammed into the dusty ground, with Naru's footprints stretching out in front of him.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Keitaro woke with a start, and he felt an odd pulsing in the back of his mind. He immediately knew it was the sword. Communicating with him once again, forming there ki's to one. He thought it was weird that the sword was sentient, but he didn't know if it was good or bad. So he just sent a message back 'you can manipulate my ki, it matters not to me.'  
  
The sword sent a single pulse back in return and then went silent. Keitaro smiled at this and relaxed in the cramped taxi 'well, at least the pulse is gone.' He then cracked and looked over at Seta who was staring out at the countryside. Watching it changing from the city where they had begun to the now dry and dismal desert where there excavation would lie over the horizon.  
  
Seta shivered as if he sensed Keitaro's eyes and looked back at him with a smile on his face. "Ah, Keitaro, you have awoken. Keitaro just nodded and Seta turned back to the countryside. "If you want to know," he continued "we'll be at the excavation in 15 minutes, so get ready for your second dig."  
  
Keitaro simply beamed at that and sunk back into his seat. He couldn't wait to relive the adventures he had experienced at Monmol, and of course he would have some new experiences as well. "Ah, the life of an Archeologist." He laughed at that and his mood couldn't have been better.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
As there taxi pulled up to the dig site, Keitaro was nearly giddy. His last dig had been amazing, if a little weird. He couldn't complain though, he had enjoyed himself and even got lost only to discover a temple. That may have been the most enjoyed time of his life, treasured along with all his other memories from the Hinata-Sou.  
  
As he looked out though, all he saw was a desolate wasteland, with no humans in sight. "Seta, where are our fellow workers?"  
  
Seta just chuckled and looked back to him, "They will be here tomorrow, today you and I get to set up the base camp and maybe do from survey work."  
  
Keitaro's faltering hopes picked up, but they needed to wait for the next day. He did hope he didn't make a fool of himself in front of the other diggers and get stuck in a hole or something though.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Keitaro climbed inside the tent, never happier to be inside an enclosed space in his life. The wind continued to batter the tent walls as the evening had kicked up a sandstorm. Luckily Seta and Keitaro had finished setting up early and didn't need to worry about working in these conditions.  
  
Looking back on it though, not much had gone well today. They had to put up the tents and the site lines in the burning sun and Keitaro could feel his skin burning already in response. It would only get worse over the next few days as well.  
  
Probably the best thing that had happened was that Seta and Keitaro discovered a river inside a small canyon near the edge of the site. So after finishing there work, they both climbed down the canyon wall and dove into the water for a swim. The cool river was about 6 feet deep and the current was calm so they had no problem relaxing the waters.  
  
Keitaro and Seta climbed out after about an hours worth of swimming and proceeded to climb out of the canyon. As they had reached the top, evening was falling and that's when the sandstorm had kicked up. As they rushed into camp they both dove into there tents trying to keep themselves safe from the harsh winds and blowing sand. Now he was alone, his first night where he felt truly alone in almost 3 years.  
  
So, he laid out his sleeping bag, but had no desire to get in it. The near sickening heat made it seem repulsive to get inside it. So he sat on it and got lost in his thoughts. While deep in thought, the Hinata-Sou loomed in front of his eyes, a constant reminder of what he had left behind. That was when he felt his sword, calling him once again.  
  
He went to his bag and pulled out his sword. He could feel its perfect balance and the heat radiating from the blade itself. He pulled the sheath off, slowly exposing the polished metal underneath. He then sat, cross legged, with the blade resting in his palms. It was then that the sword told its story to him. He felt his mind pull from his body as he floated into the dull mist surrounding it.  
  
Then a scene appeared before his eyes, a blacksmith working on the masterpiece of his life. The hammer fell in succession, this being the final molding of the sword. A long and perfectly balanced katana, the blade itself reflected like a mirror, perfectly formed with no faults. The handle, sitting to the side, was a dragon. Its eyes appeared to pierce your soul. The mouth seemed ready to attack any who touch it, friend or foe alike.  
  
The blacksmith could not help but smile at his work, this being his final piece before he had to hang up his hammer. He struck the sword one final time, and dipped into a cool barrel of water. He then hung the blade on a line and grabbed the handle. He checked one final time for any mistakes is the handle. He then set it down and locked up the shop, he would finally finish the sword tomorrow.  
  
Keitaro just watched the blade hang there. Then he realized he still had some sort of body, so he moved towards the blade. As he approached, some candlelight reflected off the blade and Keitaro covered his eyes. When he removed his hand, the blade had moved.  
  
In fact, it had done more then moved. It was now connected to the handle that it was intended to be used with. Now there was a hand holding the blade, with the scabbard at his left hip.  
  
He appeared to be a young samurai, one who was readying his own end. As Keitaro looked around, a small troop of 8 men were there. All had there swords drawn and all were preparing for the end.  
  
They were at the end of an alleyway, and at the opening of the alley was a group of about 50 men, all intent on eliminating the men next to Keitaro. One of the attacks threw his torch at the man wielding the sword of hope. He simply laughed and chopped the torch in 2 while it was in midair.  
  
The torch bounced away and extinguished itself. The men at the head of the alleyway drew there swords and began to walk towards the point where Keitaro was standing. The man next to Keitaro simply smiled, he knew that he was gonna make them pay in blood if they wanted his life.  
  
That man appeared to be there commander, because all of his fellow troop followed suit. They stood in place and watched the other men break in to a charge, drawing there swords on the way. The swords flashed into contact where they met, and the ringing of steel was heard through the night.  
  
The man wielding the sword of hope had mastered his blade. His danced through the enemy and left a row of injured and dying in his wake. His sword pierced through the pathetic armor and decapitated one man and amputated another's arm. He never let himself strike more then once, for he knew he had no time.  
  
All the while though the only thought threw his head was 'my family blade of the last 200 years, this is your last dance with us.' With that he continued to move towards the front of the people, hoping he might escape. Fate was not with him though and his troop was dying.  
  
Now, one of the leaders of his enemies jumped in his path, blocking hiss escape. Two more men came in, pinning his position against the wall. He tried hard as he could to block the strikes coming from all around him. The numbers surrounding him began to build, to the point where he knew he was trapped.  
  
Then he felt his sword being ripped out of his hand from a powerful blow. As he reached to regain hold of his, he saw another blade come down and remove his arm. He didn't care though, even though he knew there were multiple blades being impaled into his stomach, all he could do was watch the sword skitter away into the enemy and past them. It was carried to where it slid into a hole in the wall and disappeared from site. He then felt the pain overcome him and he collapsed on the ground to sleep for the rest of time.  
  
The sword was forgotten though, until a small boy picked it up and kept it as a family heirloom for generations. Till one man decided to put use to the ancient sword; and he started a rebellion against the Christians of Japan. The man was a puritan who believed that all Christians needed to be removed from there country.  
  
This led him to leading massacres against the Christians; in the end he and his followers slaughtered thousands of men, women and children for his cause. This amount of bloodshed tainted the sword, giving it the split ki you see before you. Once it was a pure sword held by a samurai family and then it was controlled by a destroyer of faiths.  
  
This is why the sword is split, always in perfect balance. Always a symbol of the fact that the sword is only a tool, for good and for bad. Understand this and the sword will serve you well, but it will never truly be yours, nor will it ever save you.  
  
Keitaro nodded as he felt himself rejoin with his body. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the sword sitting in his hands. He then picked the blade up and looked at it. On it he could see hundreds of tiny blemishes and scars left by time. They each told the story he had just witnessed in his mind.  
  
Just then Keitaro felt one last pulse in the back of his mind, accompanied by the message "goodbye." With that the sentient being which he felt from the sword vanished and the sword has connected to him. To serve as his tool till his dying day.  
  
With that Keitaro rose to his feet and held the sword in front of him. He looked at the handle, one side black, and one side white. The split of ki's, both yin and yang present. It is all up to the wielder to chose. With that he swung the sword in a vertical strike, feeling the power of the tool that he had received.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"So," Martin began, "You are a group of concerned friends tracking down your dorm manager who went on an archeological dig?" Motoko, who had explained there situation to there new tour guide of sorts, nodded to him. Shinobu looked up at Martin, still a little nervous around him, but something about him made her feel calm.  
  
He seemed non-descript, just an average male that happened to lend a helping hand. There was an odd glow about him though, something that said he would go out of his way to help anyone in need. It reminded everyone there a lot of Keitaro, and it made them feel safe.  
  
While the rest calmly finished there lunch, Su and Sara seemed to be planning something big. On the other hand, Martin was finished with his food and just calmly watched these 5 girls. None of them appeared to have any connection other then living in the same house as this man and they all seemed very determined to get him back.  
  
It was then that he decided that he would help them out, they needed to find this Keitaro guy and he could help them. They seemed very earnest in there goal so he even decided he should go with them.  
  
He watched as the last two, Motoko and Shinobu he believed there names were, finished eating. He then decided to announce the decision he had come too. He cleared his thought as he stood up.  
  
"Well, you all better be going if you plan to catch this guy." Motoko and Shinobu nodded earnestly while Mutsumi smiled up at him. They got up to leave when he broke the next bit of news to them. "I also will be coming with you."  
  
With that bit of news, even Su and Sara listened up. They all were shocked to here this, they had expected directions sure, but never direct assistance. Martin just smiled and continued on "I don't want to hear any complaints about me coming, I know quite likely where to find him and I can help you get there."  
  
Motoko, Shinobu and Mutsumi were speechless. Su and Sara on the other hand, were never speechless, much less now.  
  
"Great another dork to deal with," was all Sara said as she walked past him and out of the restaurant.  
  
Su seemed much more receptive, which was obvious when she dove into him and tackled him to the ground. "Yay, we get a tour guide, I wonder if that makes you nummy."  
  
Motoko walked over to Su and pulled her off Martin, then helped him to his feet. "Thank you so much for helping us this far, and your going to do so much more for us." She continued on, "How could we repay for this."  
  
Martin brushed his cloths off and looked off into space for a moment. After shaking his head, he responded by saying "I have no idea really, how about I get back to you on that." Motoko just smiled as the whole group walked out of the restaurant to resume the chase.  
  
'This should be an interesting experience,' thought Martin, 'and I'm gonna give this Keitaro a piece of my mind when I find him.'  
  
End Chapter 7  
  
Hey, this is a little shorter then planned but since there is a lack of updates recently thought I should give you one. I'll have another update in 3 or 4 days as well, which would have been the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully fate deals you a kind hand. If he doesn't, beat fate with a really big pole.  
  
Also, for my pick of the update:  
  
Child of the Crimson Moon: by M.Blade  
  
This is a great fic that features Koalla Su, a rarity. Also he updates at insane speeds so that's always a plus.  
  
4.2/5  
  
OK then, I'm out, but Niak will stay here cutting his wrist with a butter knife for your enjoyment.  
  
R & R or Niak will visit your mind instead of mine (believe me you don't want that, he takes not reviewing personally) 


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